Coston McIsaac & Partners Acquires 7,113 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,113 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Paychex were worth $4,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Stephens decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.67.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $99.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.76.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.